What is the appropriate penalty for a careless driver who causes a serious injury or wrongful death? Under the Province of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, careless drivers face a fine of between $400 and $2,000; up to six demerit points; up to a two-year licence suspension; and up to six months in prison.
If a person is permanently disabled in a car accident caused by a careless driver, is a $2,000 fine ample punishment? To be sure, the injured individual can and should contact an experienced car accident lawyer to seek compensation, but this will not guarantee that the defendant will not re-offend.
Last year, a woman received a $1,000 fine and six-month driving ban after killing another woman by driving her vehicle into an outdoor market in Toronto. Another driver was issued the maximum $2,000 penalty and a two-year driving prohibition after killing a six-year-old at a crosswalk. Any car accident lawyer can tell you that these penalties are disproportionate to the pain and suffering caused by the driver’s carelessness.
Last June, Liberal MPP Eleanor McMahon tabled legislation that would impose a minimum fine of $2,000 and maximum fine of $50,000 for ‘careless driving causing death of bodily harm’ in Ontario. Bill 213 died on the order paper when Premier Kathleen Wynne prorogued parliament in September 2016, but it is expected to be re-tabled in the near future.
The bill “aims to recognize and provide a tool for collisions that result in serious injury or death by creating a separate offence of careless driving causing death or bodily harm,” McMahon said at Queen’s Park in June. “Bill 213, if passed, would increase penalties under this new category, making a clear distinction between careless driving and careless driving causing death or bodily harm. It will also give police officers more time to conduct an investigation, and collision reconstructionists the time they need to do these often painstaking investigations.”
Bill 213 has received support from both NDP and Conservative members of parliament, and could make a significant difference in discouraging careless driving in Ontario. Some, including more than one car accident lawyer, believe that steeper fines do not go far enough in preventing careless driving events, however. In an opinion piece for the National Post, columnist Chris Selley bemoaned the fact that existing laws do not effectively keep dangerous drivers off the road.
“Why not 10 years?” Seeley wondered, regarding licence suspensions. “Why not forever – certainly on a second or third offence?”
If you have been injured by a careless driver, you deserve compensation for your injuries. Contact an experienced car accident lawyer at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to learn how our team can help you along your road to recovery.
Greg Neinstein
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